Three Meat Pasta

My Favourite Meat Sauce for Pasta

Yield: 4

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason, this is also an account of what happens when I make this dish, so you’ll understand each step. Of course when you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don’t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

If you’re a home cook you need a good meat sauce recipe up your sleeve. This is one of mine. Its secret is that I don’t brown the meat. That way it doesn’t toughen and need hours of braising to tenderize again. I also use a food processor to save a lot of knife work. Quick, easy and tasty!

Ingredients:

My Favourite Meat Sauce for Pasta

• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 3 x onions, cut into large chunks
• 2 x carrots, cut into large chunks
• 3 x garlic cloves
• 2 cups of button mushrooms
• 3 stalks of celery, cut into large chunks
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 6 oz of pancetta or bacon, sliced thinly
• 8 oz of ground beef
• 8 oz of ground pork
• 8 oz of ground veal
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 2 cups of red wine
• 2 x bay leafs
• 1 x large can of stewed tomatoes
• salt and pepper

Directions:

My Favourite Meat Sauce for Pasta

1. Pulse onions, carrots, garlic cloves, mushrooms, celery and olive oil in a food processor until finely chopped. This may need to be done in several batches.
2. Heat a large sauté pan with the olive oil and add pancetta. Fry until golden, aromatizing the oil with the rich flavour of the Italian bacon. Add the vegetable mixture and sauté until it begins to caramelize. Add ground meats and stir vigorously to break apart. Stir in the tomato paste, red wine, bay leaf and stewed tomatoes and continue to stir and break up any chunks of meat. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and all the flavours have blended. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Italian Basil Salad with Red Wine Herb Vinaigrette

Ease of Preparation: Easy
4-6 Servings (vinaigrette 1.5 cups)

I really enjoy tossing baby salad greens with tender basil leaves. Together, they flavour the salad with bright bursts of flavour and a jazzy herb twist. The rest of the salad picks up the theme and runs with it!

Italian Basil Salad with Red Wine Herb Vinaigrette

For the Salad:

Half a loaf of Italian bread
A few generous splashes of olive oil
A six-ounce bag of baby romaine lettuce or any other salad green mixture
A big handful of whole fresh basil leaves
A thinly sliced red onion or the pickled red onions
A sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

For the Vinaigrette:

One-half cup of red wine vinegar
A cup of extra virgin olive oil
Two heaping spoonfuls of Dijon mustard
Several heaping spoonfuls of grated Romano cheese
A generous spoonful of dried oregano
A generous spoonful of dried basil
A sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

For the Salad:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the bread into cubes and toss with enough olive oil to coat each one. Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crisp, about fifteen minutes.

Tear or chop the lettuce into bite sized pieces. Toss it with the basil leaves, red onion and a generous splash of the vinaigrette. Top with the croutons and season with a sprinkle or two of salt and pepper.

For the Vinaigrette:

Mix everything together until smooth vinaigrette forms. A blender, food processor or an old-fashioned whisk and bowl all work well but I prefer my immersion blender. It’s easier to clean up!

Roast Garlic Bread

Ease of Preparation: Easy
6-8 Servings with left over butter

If you like garlic bread you’ll love the rich mellow flavour of this version. Because the garlic is roasted first it loses its intense pungency but retains its distinctive taste. It’s just what you need to mop up tomato sauce from a pasta feed!

Roast Garlic Bread

Four heads of garlic
A few drizzles of olive oil
A stick of softened butter (four ounces)
A handful of minced flat leaf parsley
A loaf of Italian bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the top half-inch or so off of each head of garlic exposing the cloves within. Use a serrated knife if you have one; it’s easier. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over each head. Bake until golden brown, about thirty minutes. Let the garlic heads rest for a few minutes, until they’re cool enough to handle.

Grasp each head in the palm of your hand and squeeze the soft garlic into a bowl. You’ll probably need to fish out a few stray pieces of peel. Add the butter, parsley and a touch of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Make a long lengthwise cut into the bread loaf - along one side only - and open it up like a book. Spread half of the butter onto one half of the bread then close the loaf and bake it until it heats through, about ten to fifteen minutes. Save the other half for the next loaf.



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Chef At Large

Airline Catering

Air Canada is launching a new premium meal service for their business class. Michael visits Air Canada’s R&D in Montreal where they explain the concept and execution of the new menu and its dishes; as well as point out the various elements that did not work. Michael then visits CARA Foods in Toronto, the largest airline kitchen in North America, where they prep 50,000 meals a day. Then it’s onto the plane where Michael tries and comments on the presentation and taste of the new meal service.